


Cousin Isaac

by thenakednymph



Category: Dead Space, Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Isaac and Shepard are related, Shakarian - Freeform, and probably dead too, implied Mass Effect and Dead Space crossover, literally it's just Shepard going "hey I have a cousin he's in space", short fic that's been running around inside my head forever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 15:12:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8213699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenakednymph/pseuds/thenakednymph
Summary: Shepard doesn't have much family left in the universe save for maybe one cousin, but she hasn't heard from him since before the Reapers hit. But maybe family is more than what you're born into.





	

 

Shepard hops up on the work bench in the Normandy's main battery, swinging her legs like a child might, and Garrus is reminded of just how _young_ she is. Too young to carry the weight of the universe on shoulders so narrow. It's a wonder the responsibility hasn't broken her.

He darts a look at her and wonders if maybe it has. Not in any big way, they would have seen that, but maybe in a thousand little ways, micro fractures, weakening her one at a time until finally sh crumbles beneath the weight.

The look in her eyes is ageless. She's seen more in a handful of years than most see in a lifetime. It's a wonder it hasn't driven her crazy.

He side-eyes her as she fiddles with a half assembled sniper mod he'd abandoned, a lazy smile pulling her lips to one side.

“Any news from your family yet?” she asks, and her tone is too light for the weight the question carries and Garrus' fingers stumble on the keypad. For a moment he lets the fear, the raw anxiety of not knowing bow his shoulders and make his heart race before forcing it back like the good soldier he's supposed to be, that he was trained to be.

“Not yet,” he says. “But considering the chaos...” He trails off and Shepard looks up, feeling like she's put her foot in her mouth and her cheeks are red. She remembers the hot spot on the surface of Palaven he'd pointed out to her when they'd first been reunited, his home, and how it was burning.

“Shit Garrus, I'm sorry,” she mumbles, I shouldn't have asked.” She shifts atop the table, her hands flexing around the mod, as if she isn't sure what to do with it. “I'm sure they're fine.” The sentiment is awkward and tastes like ash in her mouth.

Garrus huffs a bitter laugh. “Ah, the platitudes,” he sighs and Shepard winces.

“They get a little hollow don't they?” she asks, dropping her eyes.

He doesn't answer her, just lets his talons click over the surface of the screen, running diagnostics on the Thanix's power levels and performance. “What about you? You got anyone left out there?”

Shepard shrugs, passing the mod off for a pistol, rapidly disassembling and reassembling it. It's almost a self-comforting gesture, one she almost seems to do without thought. “Probably not.”

“You sure?” he asks, somehow surprised. “It's an awfully big galaxy out there.”

Shepard's hands still and she actually takes a moment to consider the question. “I was an only child,” she says slowly, her tone considering. “So no siblings, and I lost my parents on Mindoir...” She bites her lip. “My dad was an only child but my mom had an older brother. They had some kind of a falling out and she didn't talk about him much.” She sights down the now fully assembled pistol, testing the weight of the weapon in her hands. “He had a son though, name's Isaac. We exchanged some correspondence back and forth for awhile, but then...” she shrugs one shoulder, “radio silence.”

Garrus frowns, half turning to face her. “You think it was the reapers?”

Shepard's eyebrows furrow. “It could be.”

The hesitation in her voice make Garrus think she has another theory. “You think it's something else though.”

Shepard purses her lips in a frown. “He was telling me about some kind of a mission he was going on that he had a bad feeling about. And it sounds silly but Isaac was rarely ever wrong.” She shakes off her suspicion, going back to tinkering with the pistol. “I don't know. Either way, I haven't heard from him since before the reapers hit.”

“I'm sure he's fine.” It's out of Garrus' mouth before he realizes it but it makes Shepard smile.

“Platitudes Garrus?” she teases and he shrugs, feeling embarrassed.

“They're old, but I suppose hollow comfort is better than none at all.”

Shepard hums, starting to take the pistol apart again not agreeing but neither does she argue. “He's probably the only family I have left.”

Garrus tuts in disapproval, finally abandoning the Thanix to take the pistol out of her hands, filling them with his own instead.

“That's not true.” He ducks his head to catch her eyes. “You've got us.” He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “And you've got me.”

Shepard smiles and it grows until it's almost blinding. “Yeah,” she says slowly, her thumb running along his hand. “Blood of the covenant and all that.”

Garrus frowns, wondering if his translator has glitched again. “What?”

Shepard laughs and shakes her head. “Old earth saying. 'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,'” she explains.

“Meaning?” he asks slowly, still not catching on.

“That the bonds you choose to forge, the family you make for yourself, means more than the one you were born into. So blood of the covenant...” She rolls her hand through the air and Garrus nods slowly.

“Yeah, makes sense.” His mandiles flick out in a smile and he nods firmly. “I like it.”

“Me too,” Shepard says softly, squeezing his hand. “That way you're never really alone.”

 


End file.
